Sanjay Dutt is a very respectable Indian actor and movie producer who became known through his roles of criminals and cops in action movies and thrillers.
He is also known for his turbulent wife and for the fact that he divorced three times already. Many people in the media think that he has bad luck when it comes to marriages.
He has been involved in a huge controversy after he was arrested for terrorism in 1993 nad several years later spent a few years in prison.
In India, these things are taken very seriously and that’s why he was “canceled” for some time.
Early years
He was born as Sanjay Balraj Dutt on July 29, 1959, in the town of Bombay, the capital of Maharashtra in India. He says that being a celebrity in India has its pros and cons, but mostly cons: it’s very tough to become relevant in the USA if you’re a Bollywood star.
Sanjay was born into a family that consisted of actors, producers, directors and other professions connected to movies so he was introduced to the cinema world from his early life. This made it a bit easier for him to build a career since he already had a head start.
He was also born into a wealthy family so he had everything he needed and wanted and never had to worry about essentials. This gave him more time and energy to pursue those things that he liked.
His father was Sunil Dutt who was a known actor, director, and even a politician. He had died in 2005 of a heart attack and Sanjay had a hard time coping with it. His father was very popular and at the time of his death, he was working as a minister of education in the government.
His mother Nargis Dutt was a beautiful Bollywood actress who mostly played roles in classic movies. She was very well known as well and this gave him the confidence to move on in the industry.
She has died in 1981 after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and fell into a coma after she was treated for it. Getting treatment in the US didn’t help either and although the family knew they did everything they could to help her, Sanjay still felt that they could have helped her more.
Sanjay was very close to his mother and her death was incredibly hard for him to cope with. A lot of his friends stated that his drug problem came out from losing the ones he loved so quickly. It was pretty obvious that he was coping with the issues that his family encountered, but he wanted to stay strong and move on.
He began acting very early because his father who was an actor always found a place for him on the scene. His first short appearance in movies was in 1972 in a movie called “Reshma Aur Shera”, a Hindi crime film which his father both produced and directed.
He was 12 years old at that time and he gained a small role of a Qawwali singer in the movie and it was his first time in the big scene. From that moment on, he worked his very best to become one of the best Bollywood actors there is.
Career development
Her first big movie debut was in a Bollywood hit film called “Rocky”.
It was a romantic action movie directed by his father with Reena Roy and Amjad Khan in leading roles. Many suggested that the fact his father produced the movie gave him an easier opportunity to rise as a star, but he doesn’t want to comment on these things.
Sanjay connects his debut movie to his mother’s death since she had died before the movie came to the cinema and couldn’t see her son as a movie star. This was a big shock for Sanjay and at the premiere of the movie, they left one seat empty for his mother to pay her respect for her.
Many of Sanjay’s friends said that his drug abuse and troubles with drinking were triggered by this event: his mother’s death. He never talked about these things in public because he thought that it was inappropriate.
“Rocky” became a huge hit and it brought him a new acting gig. He gained a huge role in the 1982 Hindi movie produced by Gulshan Rai. It was named “Vidhaata” and it became a blockbuster which eventually won a Filmfare Award for one of the actors in the movie.
This was a great way to start a career and a lot of producers started being interested in him.
In 1983 he started in “Main Awara Hoon”, alongside Raj Babbar and Jayapradha. His next movie came two years later, in 1985, and it was named “Jaan Ki Baazi” and he starred in it with Anita Raj and Gulshan Grover. The movie was also a box office hit and brought Sanjay a huge financial benefit.
1986 was a very important year for Sanjay Dutt because his movie “Naam” was a huge commercial success which brought him fame and money. This Hindi crime thriller where he statted alongside Nutan and Kumar Gaurav earned almost $5 million and played in cinemas over a year.
In 1987 he played a role in an action-comedy movie called “Inaam Dus Hazaar” where he starred alongside Meenakshi Seshadri. He also had a leading role in “Kawal Sharma’s” action movie “Jeete Hain Shaan Se” from 1988. Another box office hit was a Bollywood action movie called “Mardon Wali Baat” from 1988.
In 1989 he appeared in “Ilaka”, Aziz Sejawal’s movie which turned out to be a huge commercial hit which increased Sanjay’s market price. He also starred in a Bollywood movie called “I too am a human” the same year.
He also had a role in an action movie called “Kanoon Apna Apna”. Another of his Bollywood movies is called Taaqatwar where he starred alongside David Dhawan.
The 1990s continued to be very successful for Dutt with multiple hit films like Tejaa, a Bollywood action movie released in 1990 and “Khoon Ka Karz” directed by Mukul S. Amand in 1991.
Another successful movie was a 1994 action crime hit movie directed by Sanjay Gupta which was made with a budget of $1 million and earned $4 million.
“Saajan” was a very important romantic drama where he starred alongside Shaman Khan and Madhuri Dixit.
It was released in 1991 and he was nominated in the category of the best actor on Filmfare Awards next year.
“Khalnayak”, his thriller from 1993 was a very huge success and grossed an enormous amount of money.
The soundtrack of the film was extremely popular and it was sold in millions of copies. Sanjay was again nominated for the award in this film. A crime movie called “Gumrah” was released in 1993 and he starred in it alongside a beautiful Indian actress called Sridevi. This movie was very lucrative for him and it was his 2nd hit this year.
Dutt came under fire of the press after he was arrested in 1993. He was arrested under charges of terrorism but eventually, he was convicted only for possession of weapons and still had to spend a lot of years behind bars.
He was of good behavior while he was in prison so he was released a lot sooner than expected.
In 2018, Rajkumar Hirani has made a biographical movie about him titled “Sanju”. The movie shares information about his drug addiction and arrests connected to Bombay bombings in 1993.
Ranbir Kapoor starred as him. This movie managed to collect very positive reviews and became a blockbuster in the cinema. After he was released from prison due to all charges dropped against him he starred in a movie called “Dand” but it wasn’t received well.
In 1988, he appeared in a TV show called Network East.
His next successful film was named “Dushman” and it was released in 1998. His real comeback was in 1999. He managed to play in 5 movies that year and they were all huge hits.
His first hit was a thriller titled “Kartoos” where he starred alongside Jackie Shroff and Manisha Koirala.
“Khoobsurat” and “Haseena Maan Jaayegi” were also big hits. Hit thriller with Chandrachur Singh and Mahima Chaudhry called “Daag: The Fire” was also a big hit.
The biggest hit that year was a crime movie called “Vaastav: The Reality” which was made with a budget under $3 million but earned six times more at the box office. The film received great critics and he was again nominated for Filmfare awards in the category of best actor.
He has won this award for the first time. In 2000 he had a lead role in “Mission Kashmir” action movie which was also a huge hit and Sanjay son the Screen Award as the best supporting actor. He was so successful at that time that he was invited by the Indian President to meet him at his Presidential Residence.
The 2000s were also great for him since he had many hits too. He starred in a comedy movie “Jodi No.1” and a movie titled Pitch released in 2002. Another of his movies released in 2002 was “Kaante”, Sanjay Gupta’s action thriller.
“Munna Bhai M. B. B. S.” Is a comedy movie with Sanjay Dutt in a leading role and it won the National Film Award in 2004, and a Critics Award for the Best Movie.
In 2004, he played in the action thriller called “Musafir” and in a movie named “Plan”.
In 2005 he starred in “Parineeta”, a musical drama which was also a big hit. “Shabd” and “Zinda” also hit and critics spoke highly of his acting performance.
In 2006 he starred in “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” and he was again praised for his performance.
He played roles in “Shootout at Lokhandwala”, “All the Best” and “Son of Sardaar”. In 2012 he starred in “Agneepath” with Hrithik Roshan and Rishi Kapoor.
In 2017 he gained a leading role in an action drama called “Bhoomi”, directed by Omung Kumar.
In 2018 he played a role in “Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster”.
In 2019 he gained a role un “Bhuj: The Pride of India”.
In 2012 he was a host of a popular reality TV show called “Big Boss”. It was the same year that Dutt and Raj Kundra launched a professional mixed martial arts league called “Super Fight”.
Personal life
Sanjay had dated a Malaysian girl for a few months in the 80s. She was a hostess.
He started going out with Farha Naaz, a Bollywood actress and they were one step behind getting engaged when their relationship ended.
In the 1980’s he dated an actress Tina Munim for several months. Today she is married to Anil Ambani so she is called Tina Ambani. She is no longer acting. She focused on philanthropy and activism.
After that, he began a relationship with Richa Sharma who he married in 1987. Richa died in 1996 after fighting a brain tumor.
They had a daughter named Trishala but she didn’t stay with her das in India after her mum died. Richa died in New York, at her parents home.
Trishala also went to the US to live with her grandparents and it is not known is she close to her father. He was involved in a custody battle over his kid but lost it.
In 1998 he married Rhea Pillai, a model and a hostess and they stayed together for 10 years. The same year he divorced Rhea (in 2008) he got married to Manyata, a beautiful Indian businesswoman. They have twins together, a daughter and a son.
In 2003 Rhea was named to be “Woman of the Year”. She has gained a huge settlement from Dutt and she was even called out by the press for her unfair conduct. She was called a big materialist.
He was also in a relationship with Nadia Durrani with whom he acted in a 2002 crime drama called Kante.
In 2007 he was finally cleared from the 1993 bombing charges but weapon possession charges stayed so he spent a lot of time in prison waiting for his trial. He surrendered to the police in 2013 and served the rest of his 5 years long sentence until February 2016.
Sanjay Dutt lives in a very elegant and expensive apartment located in Pali Hills, Mumbai.
Sanjay is a big fan of exercise and working out since he always had to be prepared for his crime roles and have a good condition.
Quick summary
Full name: Sanjay Balraj Dutt
Date of birth: July 29, 1959
Birthplace: Bombay, India
Age: 60
Profession: actor, businessman
Height: 1,83 m
Weight: 84 kg
Net Worth: $20 million